Massage apparatus.



F. G. DUNN. MASSAGE APPARATUS. Anuomxon FILED 11110.5, 1912.

Patented Mar. 24, 191 1 mmvrm 6E ATTORNEY WITNESSES Q COLUMBIAPLANOOIIAPH 60., WAsHlidaroq. n. c.

' down moving presser pad 2.

FREDERICK o. noun, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

MASSAGE APPARATUS.

roereio.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented luar, 24, 1914,

Application filed December 6, 1912. Serial No. 735,277.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK O. DUNN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city and State of New York,(whose post-office ad dress is No. 55 Wall street, New York city,) haveinvented certain new-and useful Improvements in Massage Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The invention relates to apparatus for massaging the human body, andmore particularly to that form of apparatus which is adapted to be usedby the patient himself, whereby the massaging operations may beperformed without the assistance of a trained masseur; one of theprincipal objects of the invent-ion being to produce a simple, cheap andeflicient apparatus for effecting simultaneously a kneading and pressingmotion upon the muscles and tissues of the body by the patient himself.

It is well known that the most beneficial results of massage areobtained by such manipulation as will result in subjecting the flesh,muscles and tissues of the body to a pressing and at the same time akneading movement, and it is also understood that these movements shouldpreferably be uniform and of any predetermined force and magnitude. Bythe use of my improved massaging apparatus, it is possible for a personunskilled in the art of massaging to produce upon his own person thesame resultsas would be obtained by a trained masseur.

The invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement andcombination of various devices and parts as hereinafter particularly setforth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of one formof my invention; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is afront elevation of the same in an expanded or opened up position; andFig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 3.

In carrying my invention lnto effect, 1n one of the embodiments thereofwhich I have selected for illustration and description, and which ismore particularly shown in Figs. 1 to 4; of the accompanying drawings, Iprovide a plurality of laterally moving manipulating pads 1, and an upand It will be understood that by the term pads is meant manipulatingmembers of any suitable form or contour, and made of any materialsuitable to the conditions under which the apparatus is to be employed,and the term may include withm its scope, rollers mounted on sultablepivots, instead of the particular form of manipulating pads which areshown in the accompanying drawings. The lateral movement of the pads 1is accomplished by means of devices of the well known lazy-tongs typewhich comprise essent ally lattice members 6 and 7, pivoted each to eachas at 8 at the ends and as at 9 at their middle portions. Connect-edwith'these members are other members 3, having toes turnedatright anglesto said members as shown at 4, and being secured to the pads 1 by screws5 or in any other suitable manner. The pad carrying members 3 are attheir upper extremities mounted between two of the lattice members 6 and7 on one of the pivots 8. In order to secure a perfectly parallelmovement of the said member 3, I provide a slot 10 in each of saidmembers to cooperate with the pivotal connect-ions 8. In order to allowthe device to be contracted or closed into a simple and compact form,the pad carrying members 3 are notched as at 11 to accommodate theadjacent middle pivots 9.

The presser pad 2 which is the up and down moving pad, is carried on amember 12, constructed similarly to the members 3, the pad itself beingsecured in a similar manner. As this pad 2 has an up and down movementonly and no lateral mot-ion, it is evident that the carrying member 12should be mounted at the central joints of the lazytongs, and the member12 is therefore pivotally secured at its end adjacent to the pad, to thelattice members 6 and 7, and is provided at its upper extremity with anelongated notch 13. Notches 14 are provided in the member 12 forengagement with the pivots as already set forth. It will be readily seenthat the up and down movement of the presser pad 2 relative to thehorizontal plane of the operation of the two gathering or manipulatingpads 1 is brought about by the relative positions of the pivots andslots 10 and 13. For the purpose of con venient manipulation, I providethe lazy tongs with handles 14 which are preferably mounted on spindles15, set at their lower ends in bifurcated nuts16 and at their upper endsin similar bearings 17, one of the bearings 16 being pivoted to theextremity of one of the lattice members 6, while the other bearing 16 ispivoted to the end of one of the lattice members 7 The upper bearings 17are similarly pivoted to the ends of the lattice members 6 and 7, thesaid 1nembers being however shortened and intermediate links 18provided, pivotally connecting the bearings 17 and the shortened ends ofthe lattice members (3 and 7. This is for the purpose of compensatingfor the difference in the distance between the upper and lower pivotalpoints of the ends in the different positions of the lazy-tongs.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4t theoperation is as follows: The apparatus is grasped by the handles 14: andextended as shown in Fig. 3. The device is then applied to that part ofthe body which is to be treated, the pads 1 being firmly held againstthe body. As the handles are forced closer together and into theposition shown in Fig. l, the muscles and tissues are gathered togetherby the pads 1 and are at the same time subjected to a pressing action asthe pad 2 descends relatively to the pads 1.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desiretosecure by Letters Patent is as follows:

A massage apparatus, comprising laterally moving gathering pads, arelatively up and down moving presser pad, and devices comprising aseries of levers forming a lazytongs adapted to operate said pads.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name this tth day ofDecember 1912, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK C. DUNN.

Witnesses AGNES L. CLUNE, EDMOND L. BROWN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

